Time is running out to tell your senators to vote for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).

When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week, the full Senate will have its first opportunity in 17 years to do away with DADT when it votes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains provisions that would allow for repeal of this law.

Their legislative calendar looks crowded, and the window of opportunity to pass repeal will be narrow. That's why you must keep up the pressure on both your senators until the Senate votes to end DADT.

Call and urge your senators to make passage of repeal legislation a top priority the week of September 20th. And ask them to urge their Joint Leadership (Senators Reid and McConnell) to schedule this vote.

Senate switchboard (can direct you to your senators):
(202) 224-3121

A full Senate floor vote is one of the last major legislative hurdles that stands in the way of repeal. Unfortunately, Senator John McCain has been a vocal opponent of repeal from the start. He has indicated that he, along with other repeal foes, will pull out all the stops in coming weeks - from attempting to strike repeal language from the NDAA to offering weakening amendments or threatening to filibuster the entire defense budget.

We cannot let that happen.

If the defense budget bill doesn't move to the Senate floor by the end of this month, DADT repeal may not happen for several more years.

Call these key senators now. We need a repeal vote the week of September 20th.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
(202) 224-3542

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
(202) 224-2541

Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
(202) 224-2235

This is not the time to let up in the fight to end DADT. With your continued support we will make it clear to the Senate that repealing DADT should be a top priority this month.

Thank you.

Aubrey Sarvis
SLDN Executive Director

Betcha two to one that the Family Research Council and their allies have sent out their action alerts. And THAT is the crux of our problem. John Aravosis of Americablog says that if the DADT repeal fails, it will be a major disaster for President Obama.

I disagree with that for the same reason why I remain perplexed by my lgbt brothers and sisters. In the past two years since Obama has been in office, the lgbt community has protested against him more than we have protested against all of the major religious right groups combined.

Will GetEqual ever protest the headquarters of the Family Research Council for the repeated ugly comments of Peter Sprigg or the lies of Tony Perkins?

What about Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family, and their continued fight against legislation to stop the bullying of our children?

And yet we wonder why the media takes these folks and their lies seriously. It's because we aren't raising enough noise against them. But they certainly pay attention when we raise hell against Obama.

And what's worse, if we aren't raising hell with Obama and calling him names, we attack each other with the same amount of nasty vigor. You heard the names and phrases - "Obamabot," "Obamapologist," "drinking the Obama kool-aid."

It's such irrational, emotional, self-defeating bullshit.

By no means am I saying we should let Obama slide on his promises. What I am saying is that many in our community don't know the fine line between exerting pressure on an ally who won't do right and going overboard on the same ally. And this is costing us. While we rail against Obama, the folks who we should have been raising hell against from day one (i.e. the religious right) will continue to do what they do unchallenged - lie on the lgbt community.

My point is this - many of us have accused Obama of being weak but when it comes to taking on the religious right head on, we are just as weak as we accuse him of being.

Until we engage THEM in loudly and unapologetically, making sure we control the argument by constantly pointing out their lies and hypocrisy, we won't get anywhere. We will stay exactly where we are, kicking up dust online and to each other.

Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story - And speaking of the person partly responsible for the Republicans not getting the Senate, Mrs. Palin got a very good twitter smackdown today. Not necessarily an lgbt issue but child, it's too good not to post and spread. Just what did she do to get the following twitter post knocking her on her behind:

Palin has a journalism degree, so I'm guessing she knows what an ethical no-no it is to misquote somebody like that. It ought to be awfully hard for her to get on her pedestal and condemn the media when she can't even quote somebody honestly. How about to make it up to Reddy, Palin lets a real reporter like him fly out to Wasilla to interview her for once instead of going to her house folks at Fox News?

The Janet Jenkins/Lisa Miller situation has raged for a long time. Jenkins and Miller are two women in a relationship who agreed to have a child and raise the child together. However after the birth of the child, Isabella, Miller "renounced' her homosexuality and refused to allow Jenkins access to their daughter.

In December 2008, Newsweek magazine featured a long article about the case. Here are some of the facts:

Miller and Jenkins agreed to raise Isabella together.

Jenkins said the reason why she did not file for adoption was because she was told she didn't need to because they had the civil union (the two had married in a Vermont civil union before Isabella was born).

When the two broke up, Miller agreed to allow Jenkins to have visitation rights. Jenkins even paid child support. Miller allegedly began keeping Isabella away from Jenkins.
The entire controversy is solely because Miller will not allow Jenkins to have unsupervised time with Isabella. Jenkins mainly won her case due to the Federal Kidnapping Prevention Law.

Miller has claimed she witnessed Isabella engage in disturbing behavior after vists with Jenkins. The claims were investigated by Virginia's Child Protective Services and were deemed "unfounded."

Miller's continued resistance led the courts to give Jenkins full custody. However, Miller kidnapped little Isabella and at the present remains missing. Recently, the Supreme Court refused to listen to the case.

But in the eyes of the Family Research Council, allowing a parent to see her child is the blame for it all:

This case is a loss for all involved. It is a tragic consequence of the civil “right” that, unfortunately, Lisa Miller, fought for – and now has to live in spite of. Only this time, an innocent child suffers at the hands of adults in a political milieu where the innocent loses and no one, especially little Isabella, wins.

That's right. Blame the concept of a parent wanting to spend time with her child for the child's kidnapping instead the one who stole her. We all know why FRC is doing this. The parent wanting to spend time with her child is an lgbt and in their world, we aren't deserving of the right to have children or raise children.

Sorry, but the stereotypes of self-hating oversexed gay man, violent man-hating lesbians, and devious confused transgenders - all who have no concept of love, family, and devotion - are slowly but surely moving out of the door. And the FRC is moving with it.

If the organization had any idea of Christianity, it would be telling Miller to bring her self and little Isabella back to face the responsibility of her actions.

But, just like so many other occasions, we have seen that FRC practices a bizarro version of Christianity.

My belief, my wish, and my prayer is that this situation will turn out positive and Jenkins will be reunited with her daughter. It should be in all of our prayers and wishes.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.